Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)

I am not contesting that it is a detailed review and neither am I contesting that some of the schemes for some of the time made an important contribution that otherwise might not have happened. There is an impression being sold about the tax system under which we live, the sort of Vincent Browne-like, naive, 1960s analysis, that because we do not pay a 75% rate of personal tax, this is a very fair tax system. What is fair about a tax system whereby high-rollers get the kind of benefits exposed in these reports? The cost of €1.6 billion is double the benefit. What is fair about that? The Progressive Democrats have a "40-20" mantra with regard to personal tax, although the actual figure is 42%. The 40-20 figure is easily sold to people, but this is where the real unfairness exists in the tax code, has been allowed to exist, and after yesterday's announcements will continue to exist. It is not true to suggest it is a historical issue with which we have now dealt. No action will be taken. The existing schemes will obviously continue to run. That is a contract.

The property-based schemes will not finish until after the general election when we will have a new situation. The fear of overheating the construction sector is a fear of overheating it between now and the general election. The Government has taken no action over nine years to interfere or intervene in that market, which has produced the circumstances which the Government and I know will inevitably come to grief down the road. As the Minister for Finance said this morning, he merely hopes for a soft landing. There was no intervention of any kind, so the Government is not going to terminate these schemes before the general election because it is fearful of the fallout.

Regarding the pension fund, a cap of €5 million is supposedly fantastic news for the unfortunate worker on 20% tax who received a big break from the Minister for Finance. Instead of the 20% relief the worker could expect to get, he or she will now get €2,500 on €7,500 out of the SSIA. Compare that with the €5 million cap that is left, not to mention the sort of person who could put €25 million into a pension fund and avoid paying any tax as a result.

This is the serious inequity and unfairness in the tax code, not the blather about 20-40 or 20-42, which is almost meaningless when one looks at the amount of tax which people with wealth pay, and the amount of tax which ordinary workers on the average industrial wage and somewhat more are liable to pay.

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